SummitSkills, the sector skills council for the building services engineering sector, says that heating installers will welcome the Government's new voucher scheme to reduce the cost of training in renewable heating.
Operating on a first-come first-served basis, the scheme will provide up to £250,000 for installers, with up to £500 or 75% off the cost of a training course per person.

Chief executive of SummitSkills, Keith Marshall OBE, said: 'This is what employers have been asking for and it is what we have been suggesting to government for a while. We work closely with many employers and their representative organisations, and the type of 'voucher' scheme just announced by DECC is exactly the type of incentive that lots of them have been telling us they want to see.'

He added: 'This is a positive development from the Government and should go some way to encouraging the heating and ventilating industry to continue to learn more about renewable heating technologies. The voucher system will make the training a more affordable and attractive option for thousands of small and micro-businesses who need all the help they can get in these continuing challenging times.'

The scheme was unveiled by Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, on 26 March, the same day that he revealed there would be a further delay to the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.

In addition he announced a £9million package to help local authorities get heat network schemes up and running in towns and cities across the country, with a new Heat Networks Delivery Unit to sit within the DECC providing expert advice. There will also be £1million available for the cities of Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Nottingham to help them develop heat networks. Finally, 100 green apprenticeships are to be funded primarily for young people in small scale renewable technologies.